JulyMonCon: Start the party with a 'bang'
by ThePhengophobicGamer
Summary: A direct prequel to VNS Arc, this is the story of how Grimm came to attack the small town of Andyros. Rated T for some violet themes.


**ISLAND OF ANDYROS**

On average, Andyros was a quiet town. By 10 at night, shops would be closed, children would be in bed, and fishermen would be readying their small vessels for the morning. This night, however was not average. The normally empty streets where bustling with people, a majority of which were tourists, attracted to the island for the annual Drake-Fest, celebrating the hero that killed the Sea Drake of Dros, a legendary ancient Grimm.

Legend says that many hundreds of years ago, just shortly after the island was inhabited, a winged sea monster, dozens of feet long, began attacking fishing boats, even strafing the city on occasion. Lady Seraph Arc, a then unknown heroine before the time of huntsmen, came to the aid of the island, slaying the drake in standard Arc fashion, with a basic sword and wooden shield, which did not survive the battle.

For her heroics on the island and afterwards, she was knighted by the king of Mistral, still a fledgling kingdom at the time. Each year, on the anniversary of her heroic feat, a week-long celebration occurs in her honor. As Lady Arc was one of the first heroes of the infamous Arc family, the festival is renown worldwide. Some vendors sell a traditional dish of raw fish marinated in citrus and the milk of an indigenous fruit, served with various diced vegetables, called poisson cru or 'Androsian Salad'. Others sell various trinkets and souvenirs to commemorate the festival, while even more operated small games, awarding prizes for knocking down the small drake figure or 'dunking the drake'.

One visitor however was ignoring each booth, sauntering through the crowd toward the dock. Her sleek black hair rested at her shoulders, an otherwise plain yellow dress accenting her figure, her glass-like heels clinking along the pavement. Her amber eyes slowly took in her surroundings, noticing the faunus vender a few meters to her right nod in her direction, meeting her gaze.

The woman grinned almost sinisterly before whispering to herself. "Excellent. The 'party favors' are in place; time for the fun to begin." She continued past a pair of huntsmen, weapons stored on their person, who were playing what looked like a Drake-themed ring toss at one of the booths. "Large showing I see." She whispered once more, being careful to pass well behind the distracted huntsmen. Within minutes she had navigated the few blocks from the center of the festival to the fishing dock, spotting a lone fishing trawler anchored in the bay.

The woman moved down to one of the smaller private docks, the dust lamp dimly flickering. Checking that there was no one in the immediate vicinity, her sinister smirk broke out into a full evil smile. She leaned up against the metal pole supporting the failing lamp before snapping her fingers; a small flame bursting to life over the woman's index finger.

"And here, we, go." She channeled her aura to create a small ball of fire in her palm, then hurled it at the fishing vessel. It impacted just seconds later, igniting the fireworks display arranged along the prow of the ship. A handful of small firework rockets detonated immediately, spraying sparks of purple, red and yellow into the water around the ship, igniting the remainder of the display.

Many of the tourists in the vicinity of the docks looked to the ship, believing the fireworks were part of the festivities. Event organizers and security began to panic though, as the fireworks weren't meant to be lit until midnight, three hours from now. In the few seconds that it took for people to notice, the remainder of the rockets had reached the tip of their flight, each exploding in an array of bright colors and drawing the attention of the reminder of festival-goers.

Cinder Fall nodded to the shadow next to her, signaling the White Fang agent hiding there to detonate the packs of explosives arrayed around the base of the town's protective wall. Explosions blossomed all around the town, alarms following quickly afterward. Panic began to spread through the streets, huntsmen readying their weapons and attempting to calm the crowds, ultimately failing. Many tourists screamed, running for cover. Cinder practically reveled in the waves of fear emanating from the center of the town.

In the forests outside the city walls, masses of Grimm were doing the same thing. Large packs of beowolves and ursai spotted the holes in the wall, roaring before charging through the smoldering ruin toward the town center, swiping and clawing at anything in sight.

"I believe that is our que to leave." Cinder mused to the White Fang agent as a small speedboat pulled up to the dock, next to their position. As they clambered in, Cinder turned back to the city. "Now, onto phase 2." Cinder smirked evilly as the boat pulled away from the dock, followed by the sounds of screams and gunshots.


End file.
